Welcome to Fairy Tail!
by bellagill92
Summary: There was no day more bizarre, amazing and conflicted in Jellal Fernandes's life than the one when he first 'walked' into the Fairy Tail guild building as one of its members. (Part of the 'Our World' series. Can be read as a stand-alone fic.)


**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the wonderful feedback from the Jerza Love Fest! You are all amazing!**

**And, finally, here is it - the long-prequel prequel to 'The Rollercoaster' and 'Quitter, a tale of oh-so-painful Addiction'. The cake incident had already been mentioned in 'Quitter', if you start getting flashbacks or anything. ****I hope you guys like it!**

**December x791**

It had been a rather sudden discharge from the hospital. One moment, the doctors had been all 'oh, we can't predict when you'll be well enough to leave' and the next one, they'd made a completely 180 degree to 'we're going to need this bed, so scram'.

For the past two and a half months, Jellal Fernandes had been a full-time resident of Magnolia Hospital, courtesy of Zeref and co. One of those months was spent with him unconscious in the local coma ward and the rest trying to recover use of his body due to the ensuing atrophy, all the while waiting for Porlyusica to come up with a solution to give him his eyesight back.

It had been on the previous day that she finally had succeeded and, apparently, that was enough for the doctors to kick him out even though he still couldn't walk across a room without falling on his face at least twice.

"Oh, don't be so gloom," Meredy scolded Jellal when he expressed his doubts while sitting sideways on his soon-to-be-vacated hospital bed. "You're getting better. Just last week you wouldn't have been able to walk more than a couple of steps without toppling over. Plus, it's not like they haven't booked you into months' worth of physical therapy. I guess they think you'll be able to look after yourself now that the grumpy lady finally managed to give you your eyesight back," Meredy said before leaning forward to look right into his eyes.

Jellal flinched. "Meredy, you're getting a little too close."

She pulled back. "Sorry. The eye she had to replace looks just like the real thing and the other one looks good as new too. It's insane. With quality work like this, it's no wonder it took her so long to have it ready." She turned to the third person in the room, who was leaning against the wall, looking bored. "Why don't you get an eye like this one to replace the one you lost, Erik? I bet Kinana would like it," she asked the man occasionally known as 'Cobra'.

Cobra shrugged and made a point of ignoring the reference to Kinana. "I'm doing fine with just one eye." Honestly, he wasn't even sure why he had been saddled into coming to pick up Jellal… he guessed he did owe him that, but still… Pinkie had just shown up out of nowhere an hour before and dragged him away from his usual spot at the bar located in a corner of the construction site known as the guild, where he regularly nursed some sort of deadly drink he'd convince Kina to fetch him from her cleaning supplies cupboard. He probably would have fought if he hadn't heard the thinly-veiled threat in her mind of getting in cahoots with the other demonic barmaid and fix Kina up on a date with the baker's son just to piss him off. So what if he hadn't made a move yet even though he'd been crashing on her couch for weeks? He had a system. Respect the system.

"You keep bumping into things. Your peripheral vision is crap. You walked off a bridge right into the river by mistake last week," Meredy pointed out.

"Can it, Pinkie," he replied in annoyance.

She rolled her eyes, turning back to Jellal. "I almost forgot," she said, reaching into her bag and getting what seemed to be a postcard covered in calligraphy. "Richard sent you a get-well card. Sawyer signed it too but I'm pretty sure it was Richard's idea. He's such a sweetheart." She sighed, having been particularly fond of Hoteye in his Crime Sorcière days. "I miss him."

Jellal nodded solemnly. It had been a shock to him to wake up and find out that, in his sleep, Crime Sorcière had stood trial, been conditionally released and promptly disbanded, its members having been divided between different guilds.

For a year, maybe more if the authorities deemed it appropriate to extend probation, they would have to live according to the rules dictated by the council – only Meredy had escaped that fate because, having left Grimoire Heart at age twelve, all the actual crimes in her record had been committed when she was legally deemed a child, which gave her grounds for exoneration. The others had to submit or go back to prison.

"Alright, Jellal, hop onto the chair. We're wheeling you out of here," Meredy brightly announced. "Eric, get the crutches and the rest of his stuff. I'll push the chair."

"Really, I'm your working horse here? Couldn't you have gotten Scarlet for that? She's pretty happy with spending most of her time gushing over the boss anyway, I'm told," he complained. To think he'd considered her a worthy opponent once…

"She's on a job with her team, you idiot! She's supposed to get back anytime now but hasn't yet. Haven't you noticed that she hasn't been around the guild for the past few days?"

He gave her a look. "It's funny how act like I give enough of a shit to notice that kind of thing," he said, causing her to frown, crossing her arms, looking skeptical. Her thoughts reached his ears in a flash. "No, I'm not! Who do you think you're calling a big softie in disguise?!"

Her lips curled as she recalled a particular instance in which she'd seen him carrying a heavy load for Kinana when he'd ran into her on the way back from the grocery store.

He gaped. "Are you spying on me?! I just didn't want her to pull a muscle or something and have to stay away from work for a while. She's the only one who knows how to mix my drinks the way I like them!" There was a moment of silence. "No, that is not cute!" He growled. Sometimes he really hated his ears. "You know what, I'm out of here. See you in hell, boss. By which I mean the guild."

"Quit pretending you're not having the time of your life there!" Meredy shouted after Cobra, which he ignored. "He tries to be so above Fairy Tail… But you should see the look on his face when he gets in the middle of a brawl – like a kid in a toy store, especially if it's Natsu or Gajeel he's pounding on. And did I mention I'm pretty sure he helped Wendy on a job in town last week? All I know is that it was going pretty bad and that after he was spotted nearby, things slid right into place. She's been all smiles to him ever since."

Jellal's lips curled a little. It was good to see Fairy Tail was doing Cobra some good, despite his determination to remain above it all. "I hope the others feel the same way in Sabertooth and Lamia Scale," he said.

"Yeah…" she mumbled, pushing his chair out of the room. "At least they were welcomed with open arms. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Juvia and Gray ran into Orga and Rufus from Sabertooth on a job. They talked about Macbeth and Sorano. Apparently, Macbeth mostly naps but Sorano… well, they say it's as if she owns the place already. She gets on Sting's nerves like there's no tomorrow, hounds Rogue when she feels like he's sniffing too closely around her sister and has apparently become really good gal pals with Minerva."

Jellal was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure if I find that friendship reassuring."

"Yeah… But I'm sure a lot of people would say that about you and Ultear back in the day. Let's give it a few months before we start panicking," she said, stopping at the nurses' station to say their goodbyes and finish the last bits of paperwork.

Jellal hadn't seen sunlight in so long, that once Meredy wheeled him out of the hospital, his eyes actually hurt even though the day was overcast. It probably was that his eyes were particularly sensitive – truth to be told, he'd grown unused to being able to see _at all_ during those weeks of darkness and indistinguishable blurs, so everything seemed particularly bright now that Porlyusica had done her thing.

Still, after a few minutes, his eyes managed to adjust enough that it didn't feel like someone was holding a flashlight right in front of them. He had to admit he found the setting around him very charming.

Even before proceeding to the reconstruction of their own guild, Fairy Tail had taken it upon itself to help rebuilding the rest of town, feeling responsible for the partial destruction of it. It was impossible to say Magnolia was good as new, especially with the cathedral still covered in scaffolding, but he could understand how a gothic cathedral would take longer to repair than the regular house or plaza.

The townspeople sure didn't seem to hold Fairy Tail too responsible for what had happened and, even before they reached the first bridge, he could count at least three shop-owners who waved at Meredy in a friendly manner. Judging by the enthusiastic response of her shadow on the floor, he could tell she felt right at home in Magnolia. And for all the notoriety of his face as one of a criminal, no one seemed particularly bothered by his presence too. Although he had been told about the role that public opinion had had on Crime Sorcière's release, it hadn't hit him just how non-threatening they were seen as these days until that moment. Such a thought brought bittersweet feelings to his mind: although he was happy that Meredy had a normal life now, he couldn't help feeling the very opposite about himself.

Ever since the Fairy Tail guild mark had been placed on his bicep, he had been struggling with feelings of regret. His crimes were far from erased and his sentence had been way too generous. He had no right to that normal life Meredy seemed to be enjoying and he most certainly had no business spending it as close to Erza as being in the same guild as her could make him. Thus far, with his inability to literally walk away, he had let things get too far. Erza had been spending way too much time in his hospital room and she was getting too attached to him… as he was getting to her. He needed to figure out a way to fix that – leaving Fairy Tail now was not an option with his probation terms, so he had to think of a way to increase the distance even if they were in the same guild. Maybe once he was back to active duty, he could take long jobs out of town – until the end of the year-long probation, he would always need an S-class escort outside of the guild, and he'd already had a number of helpful offers, from Mira, Erza and Laxus. Obviously, he couldn't take Erza's offers but Laxus was known for taking long jobs one after another, so maybe temporarily teaming up with him would work in his favor.

"Sheesh, what are you slouching that much for?" Meredy demanded. "One would think I was wheeling you to your own execution! Lighten up, Jellal! You're headed straight for your first Fairy Tail party!"

His eyes widened in alarm and he turned around, facing his team mate. "A party?"

"Oh, not in your honor, so stop freaking out already," she responded. "No one even knew you were being sprung out today until an hour ago, remember? Mira's been planning this party for months – it was supposed to be a celebration of this year's S-Class exam but since there won't be one after all, she turned it into a joint celebration of the tenth anniversary of her, Erza's and Laxus's promotion to S-class members of the guild. Technically, it's only Mira's anniversary but since Erza and Laxus missed theirs while they were frozen in Tenrou island, she's throwing them all together. But, let's be honest, it's really just an excuse to throw a party."

Jellal had sort of stopped listening midway through her explanation. "They won't hold S-Class trials this year?" he asked in surprise.

"Nope. Can't afford the permit with all the reconstruction costs," Meredy replied. "I didn't even know a permit was required to hold S-class trials. And costing twenty million plus tax, no less! What a theft! Did that happen when you and Ul were at the council?"

He nodded. "Yes. And it's not completely unreasonable if you think of it – if it wasn't for the costly permit, what would there be to stop guilds from holding S-class promotion trials all year long? That way, the S-class population would be massive and it would be hard to tell apart genuinely-powerful S-class members and the ones who just lucked out from the increased odds, which, if you think of it, would be dangerous, not to mention absolute chaos! I do agree that the price should be more flexible, though, and take into account situations like the size of a guild or unexpected catastrophes like the one Fairy Tail went through. But I guess it's just how it is."

"Well, everyone is pretty bummed. Although, the Master promised he would try to save enough next year so that he can promote three people rather than one at the trial…"

"He does realize that will cost three times as much, right?" Jellal asked, just to make sure.

"I guess but it doesn't hurt to be hopeful," she positively said. "Most of the reconstruction work is already done, anyway. It's only the Cathedral that is taking the longest time and the guild should have a roof by New Year's. Hopefully once that's all over the Guild's reserves will stop being bled dry and the Master will be able to save enough to meet the goal."

He nodded silently, also hoping that that would be the case. For all his incredibly harmful actions, Fairy Tail had always been exceedingly generous towards him. He wished the guild nothing but the best.

Meredy went on wheeling him through town for several minutes, meeting more new acquaintances of hers on the way. It was after they crossed the second bridge that he spotted it: the Fairy Tail building. The unfinished structure was, as Meredy had said, lacking on a roof, though everything else seemed well underway. They had picked a simpler design than the previous one, though he could tell it had increased in size.

But, before he could admire the guild building any further, something else caught his attention and Meredy's, who halted her wheeling. First, there was the sound of an approaching scream and then, Natsu landed on the floor not three feet in front of them with a pitiful yelp, having flown (unwillingly) all the way from the guild hall.

It didn't end there.

Before they could say anything, Erza came charging the Dragonslayer's way, wearing her purgatory armor. "_Natsu!"_

To be honest, he had to admit he'd imagined the first time he'd clearly see Erza after recovering his sight would be a little more… emotional. Certainly less bloody and not with her looking positively murderous… not that she didn't still look glorious, as always.

The pink-haired young man squeaked on the floor and curled into a ball. "I'm sorry!"

She approached, not even acknowledging anyone but Natsu, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck like a puppy, making him look up. "How _could _you?!"

Jellal stared, witnessing it as Natsu found himself at the wrong end of a glare not even Jellal himself had ever received during his time as a villain. What on Earthland had he done? What sort of… heinous crime had he committed?

"Erza!" Somebody called at a distance.

It was Mirajane, running along with the bulk of the guild.

"Erza, calm down," the white-haired barmaid told her. "It's really not that bad…"

"Not that bad?!" Erza hissed. "He _killed it! _It was innocent!"

A million images rushed through Jellal's head. Had he murdered a pet? Or… a child? No, of course not – Natsu wasn't a murderer. And she wouldn't call a child 'it', would she?

Unlike him, however, the rest of the guild seemed more unimpressed than horrified. It wasn't until Laxus spoke up about what was in everyone's mind that Jellal finally got the picture. "Of course it was _innocent_! What wrong is a fucking _cake_ supposed to do except sitting there waiting to be eaten like a damn slut?"

Mirajane gasped and slapped him on the arm. "Laxus! Language!"

Jellal stared. All of that was about cake? Erza was scaring years of life away from Natsu over dessert? Was it some sort of… divine world-saving cake on which depended the lives of many people?

Erza glared at the Thunder Dragon Slayer. "How _dare _you? It was not just _cake_, much less a 'slutty one'," she hissed. "It was a piece of art consisting of three layers of perfectly-confectioned sponge pastry with pieces of the best strawberries in Fiore, glued to each other with strawberry-flavored whipped cream laced with strawberry syrup and frosted with cream cheese, strawberry purée and slices of the aforementioned strawberries. There is a five-month waiting list to get one of these cakes! I have been dreaming of tasting it ever since Mira told me she put in an order! So, how dare you call it a measly 'cake'? It was food of the gods!"

Laxus scoffed. "Sounds like diarrhea waiting to happen," he replied snarkily.

Erza unceremoniously dropped Natsu onto the floor, much to the pink-haired Dragon Slayer's relief, and took a stride towards Laxus, who stood there just _daring _her to start a fight.

Jelall simply sat there, dumbstruck. So much ado about cake that, apparently, wasn't even all-powerful or anything – just incredibly lavish. His mind couldn't help but attempt to justify Erza's actions. It must be a trigger. Food had been wasted and, after they had spent ages being mistreated and starved by the slavers at the tower as children, food wasting must have become a very sore spot for Erza, triggering irrational rage from her part. Yes, of course. It was understandable that Erza, his knight of justice, wouldn't take such a matter lightly after their ordeal.

"Alright, alright!" the Master intervened. "That's enough, you two! Laxus, stop provoking Erza and you, young lady, stop overreacting. Let's not kill each other over food!"

"Food?! It was a masterpiece! One I will never get to taste because he… he…" She looked at Natsu and then at Gajeel, whose left side seemed to be partially covered by vestiges of the aforementioned cake. If he had to guess, Jellal would say Erza's cake has been caught on a fight between the two Dragon Slayers, culminating on Gajeel being thrown onto it. He wasn't quite sure why Natsu was getting all the heat… maybe he'd started it.

"It's a shame too. It was really good cake," Levy announced after sticking two fingers into the cake on the Iron Dragon Slayer's clothing and having a taste of it.

Gajeel's eyes widened. "What'cha doing, Shorty?! I'm not a plate!"

"Well aren't you a big girl now, Levy?" Cana quipped. "Eating food off a guy's body. Kinky!"

"It's nothing like that!"

All Jellal could do as he witnessed the scene was… well, sitting there wide-eyed in disbelief. He had to wonder if he'd just walked into the set of some sort of sitcom… but then, he saw the look of temptation on Erza's face as she stared at the remainders of cake on Gajeel's arm and he quickly realized it was more like a horror show. _No!_

Thankfully, he wasn't the only one to notice. And so, Gajeel found himself on the wrong end of 'Solid Script: Water', which washed away the remainder of the cake on him. For a moment, Erza looked heartbroken as she looked at the puddle on the floor.

"What the fuck was that for, Shorty?! It's freezing out here! Now I'm all wet!"

"Sorry… I don't know what's come to me. I was aiming for 'Solid Script: Towel'," she lied. "Oh, well, at least your shirt won't stain."

"'At least my shirt won't stain'?!" he asked in disbelief. "How the hell does 'towel' become 'water'?"

"Accidental word association," Lily provided for Levy. "Really, you should thank Levy. We both know that once you arrived home you'd just throw that shirt into the mountain you call a laundry pile, cake frosting and everything. She's just saved us from an ant invasion."

"Shut it, cat!"

Jellal couldn't help noticing Erza was still looking at the puddle of water and cake frosting on the floor when the soaked Gajeel returned to the guilt followed by Levy and his cat. "It's gone…"

"Except it's not!" Mirajane announced behind Erza, causing her to turn around so fast she probably gave herself whiplash. "Why won't anybody listen to me?" she asked dejectedly.

"What do you mean it's not?" Erza demanded.

Mirajane sighed, shaking her head like a mother patronizing a child. "I'm disappointed you think I'm so unprepared. Did you really think I ordered one single cake when I know the odds of a fight breaking out and it ending up as collateral damage?"

The redhead's eyes shone with hope. "You ordered two."

"Actually, I ordered three," she said. "You never know."

There was a moment in which Erza stared at Mira with wide-open eyes and there was just something… something he couldn't describe. He got a feeling she might just kiss her… and weirdly, he wasn't as averse to that as he'd been to the thought of Erza tasting cake that had been splattered all over Gajeel… _Wait, what?_ He thought in alarm. _No. Not good! Bad Jellal!_

"Well, there you go, Erza. How do you justify beating up Natsu now?" Master stated, giving her a stern look.

"He did still destroy an incredibly expensive cake," Gray pointed out. "Actually, aren't we broke? How did we manage to afford three of those, anyway?"

"The payment was up front," Mirajane explained. "And I did put in the order right after we won the Grand Magic Games… It seemed like a good idea at the time, after everything we'd been through."

The Master seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Alright, the beating is justified, then. Also, Natsu, you owe the guild… er, Mira-chan, how much did that cake cost exactly?"

"Twenty-five thousand," she declared.

"Eh?!" Lucy shouted. By then, Natsu had managed to recover enough to drag himself across the floor and clutch onto her leg for protection, which weirdly didn't seem to bother her. Maybe she hadn't noticed, Jellal thought. "You spent twenty-five thousand jewel on cakes?! That's more than a third of my rent!"

"No, Lucy. Twenty-five thousand _each_," Mira explained.

The blonde started to go limp and the only reason why she didn't fall was Cana pulling her up by the back of her top, an amused look on her face. "You should hear the price of the booze she ordered for the Master." Or rather, for her to swipe away from him.

The Master pressed his temples, fighting back a headache. Next time they found themselves on the possession of a large amount of money, they really needed to get their spending under control in case of a rainy day. "Alright, children, let's start acting like civilized people. I can only imagine the impression Jellal must have of us after watching this pitiful scene."

It was only then, at that direct mention of him that it hit Erza that he was there – she'd been far too entranced by her loss and subsequent need of revenge to think past it. She turned to him and suddenly, her face became almost as red as her hair over being caught by him, of all people, in the middle of such a display. "Je-Jellal," she stuttered.

"Hi," he said simply. All eyes were on them. It made him a little bit antsy.

He wasn't the only one. "H-hi…"

"_Kyahhh! Where are you looking, you pervert?!"_ came Lucy's shrill voice from behind Erza. Apparently, she'd just snapped out of her temporary stupor and finally noticed Natsu's attachment to her leg, which was far more alarming that it normally would have been, given that his face was turned upwards (even though he was more or less in a stupor himself) and she was wearing a skirt, leaving her panties at full display to him. Of course, his lack of awareness and possible brain damage were ignored by Lucy as she shouted 'sexual harassment' and tried to pry him off her, much to everyone else's amusement.

Jellal got the feeling that Erza-induced damage was a very normal thing for Natsu, given that there seemed to be no concern whatsoever for his wellbeing, like they were sure he'd bounce back in no time. He saw the scene with amusement and could only be thankful that it had drawn the attention away from him and Erza.

"Alright, guys, let's get Natsu back into the guild," Bisca suggested. "It's getting cold out here and I don't think he'll be able to move on his own for a while."

"He's drooling," Asuka said with a giggle, squatting at the Dragon Slayer's side and poking him on the face.

"Elfman, please carry Natsu back," Mira requested. "Laxus, I'm going to need your help getting the second cake out of the cold storage."

"Oh, because it's _so_ heavy you need a big, tough guy to carry it for you. My, my, Mira…" Cana teased. "Or maybe it's just to keep you warm in that cold, _cold_ storage room."

"Mind your own business, lush," Laxus spat back, leading the blushing white-haired girl back to the guild.

The rest of the crowd was quick to follow, most of them too amused with the sight of Natsu Dragneel being carried bridal-style by Mirajane's brother. That left only Jellal himself, Meredy, who was in charge of his wheelchair, and Erza, still recovering from the shock of seeing him there, standing on the street. Soon enough, one of them realized that three was a crowd.

"Er… Erza, would you mind terribly wheeling Jellal back? I need to go to the little girl's room like _right now_," Meredy said.

He looked back at her and raised his eyebrows. He couldn't even begin to state how weak that excuse was. Little girl's room? Really? And what about the fact that he was sitting on a _self-propelled _wheelchair, meaning he could wheel himself around just fine. He failed, however, to say any of that out loud.

"O-Of course," Erza stuttered. "I will get him to the guild myself."

"Thanks! Well, I'm off, then," the pink-haired girl announced, quickly making her way towards the guild.

As they were left alone, for a moment Erza just stood there, looking very embarrassed. "I deeply apologize for the display you've just seen. You must have a horrible impression of the daily life in this guild. I assure you this will happen very rarely."

That was a lie, he would soon realize. Truth to be told, it probably hadn't been one said on purpose – either Erza was just very positive about the future now or she plainly wasn't self-aware at all.

"It's understandable," he said, exaggerating his acceptance a little too much. "Food wasting should always be taken seriously."

Erza sighed, thinking of that poor, poor cake that had been killed. Part of her wanted to cry for the end of it even though she knew there was another one waiting for her just at the end of the street. But the other part wouldn't let her because Jellal was right there, in relative health and smiling a smile (mostly unwillingly – as much as he wanted to stay stone-faced, his amused body wouldn't obey him) that went all the way up to his…

"Your eyes are fixed!" she nearly shouted, just noticing it. How hadn't it hit her before?!

"Oh… yes. Porlyusica came by yesterday," he informed her. "It's good to be able to fully see again."

"So, your vision is fully restored? How are you adjusting?"

"Perfectly. The eye that was replaced felt a little itchy at first but the feeling was gone by this morning. She made a very thorough examination to make sure everything was well," he informed her. Of course, he refrained from mentioning that she'd made a point of kicking him on the shin so hard he literally spilled tears – according to her, she just wanted to make sure his 'lacrimal glands' were in good condition because Erza's hadn't last time she'd done that.

She looked down. "I had intended to be there with you for the process, seeing as I've been through it myself, and your discharge too."

"It's okay – it was all really sudden," he told her. "I barely had the time to call for Meredy before they kicked me out. Apparently, they desperately needed the bed. And the job you took couldn't wait." She'd told him about it when she'd come by to say goodbye. Missing children being kidnapped by a Dark Guild for lord-knew-what. He hadn't needed fully-functional eyes to see it hit her where it hurt – they were no different than they'd been, taken from their families at such a young age. "Did it go well?"

"Yes. All children were returned home. The Dark Guild was dismantled. A few members managed to escape us but the villagers caught them and did a number on them."

"Good," he said somberly. "It's good that somebody took the time to stop them."

"That is what we are here for," she replied before moving to stand behind him so she could push the chair (and requip a regular outfit on… somehow, even though he must have seen her do so several times already, the idea of requipping right in front of him at the moment made her a little self-conscious – there was, after all, a single moment in which the outline of her naked body became visible and even though she didn't usually care about that, that wasn't the case at the moment).

"You don't need to do that," Jellal said.

Thinking he was talking about the hidden requipping, she went very red all of a sudden. "W-what?!"

"Pushing the chair, I mean," he specified. "This chair is self-propelled, so I could wheel myself just as well."

"Oh," she mumbled in relief. "There is no need. Pushing a wheelchair is hardly an effort from my part. The guild is only a few yards away." She so, she began pushing the chair, leaving no room for protests on his part. "I hope you won't be too put off by the state of the guild," she said after a moment or two of uncomfortable silence. "The delivery of the roof tile keeps getting delayed but I assure you we won't let this charade go much longer, even if I have to intervene to make sure of that. In any case, we have taken measures to make sure you will be comfortable in your room at the guild despite the construction going on."

Jellal sighed. It had been incredibly generous of the Master to offer him lodgings in the guild building for the duration of his recovery. Even though the lack of stairs and closeness to the guild were convenient in some ways, it also killed his best excuses to stay away from Erza. Still, even though Jellal had attempted to argue, the man wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "You really didn't need to. I've spent over half of a decade moving from cave to cave – I'm not particularly fussy when it comes to comfort these days."

Erza frowned behind him. "You should. You are _injured_. Living in substandard conditions would most certainly hinder your recovery, Jellal. With that said, a construction site may not be ideal but I assure you it will not be raining on you: not only will there be two whole floors above your room, but also Freed has put up runes to prevent flooding all over the building. Temperature may be an issue as the area was too extensive for him to create runes that would work for both rain and cold throughout it all without completely draining himself of magic but your room does have a fireplace in it."

"I can work with that, Erza. You don't need to worry," he assured her.

She nodded behind him. "Good," Erza spoke. "I hope you know that everybody is eager to regularly have you around Fairy Tail now. You were widely considered a honorary member of the guild ever since you helped us during the Grand Magic Games, even though you didn't have a mark on you. Even Master Mavis acknowledged it so."

Feeling guilty, he bit his lip. He didn't deserve even _half _of what he was being given. "You are all being too generous."

She actually let out a little laugh. "No such thing in Fairy Tail. And I am sure you will not say the same once you see the pile of paperwork the Master has put aside for you to 'help' with. You really have no idea what you signed up for when you offered…"

Having been in charge of most Fairy Tail issues in his time at the council, he was pretty sure he had. But, in his current state and under the watchful eye of Fairy Tail, there were scarce ways of punishing himself other than spending all day writing apology letters on behalf of members of the guild and generally filling up paperwork for the new council. At least Makarov would be getting a break, he thought as Erza finally pushed his chair past the large doors of the new Fairy Tail guild building.

The inside of it kind of looked like a homeless camp. To make up from the loss of heat through the open ceiling, there appeared to be a massive bonfire in the center of the room. The bar looked fully operational, Erik nursing a glass on a tall bench as Kinana dried a tankard with a cleaning rag. It was strange and probably not all that comfortable but it felt oddly… welcoming.

Erza took it upon herself to voice it. "Welcome to Fai… _Max if your sand gets anywhere near my cake, I'm going to shove that broomstick all the way down your throat._"

There was, unsurprisingly, another fight going on inside the guild, taking place just as Mira and Laxus exited the back room with the cake – a humongous and decadent three-level display of pink frosting and strawberries the size of a child's fist. A sandy-haired man holding onto a broom, who he assumed to be Max, was throwing fistfuls of sand at a dancing person he'd only previously seen briefly and whose name he couldn't recall – they seemed to be somewhat drunk, fighting over a game of cards. And, just like that, Erza was charging in to defend the cake, sword in hands and looking ready for a challenge

"_This is not your cake, Erza. It's everybody's," _somebody shouted.

"_Go! Flatten those two idiots_."

"_Ufufu… you know Max prefers it when his broom goes the other way around._"

_What?!_

"Everyone, stand two paces or more away from this cake," Erza demanded. "Freed, I want a rune barrier around it this instant! If it as much as gets a dent before I get a chance to taste it, heads will roll!"

He couldn't help but smile at the shenanigans taking place. He could already tell there wasn't a sane soul in the place – not even Erza – and, somehow, that made him feel less out of place.

Deep down, he knew he shouldn't feel that way. The happiness he felt right then was undeserved and he ought to actively push it away. Still, he didn't move a muscle for that purpose. That was not to say he wasn't still resolute on expanding the distance between himself and Erza, weaning her off him in a way – just not that day. He couldn't be the dark cloud looming over all the happiness he felt around.

So, for one day, he would allow himself to enjoy his new home. For one day, he would be a member of Fairy Tail. Punishment would have to wait for later.

**The End**


End file.
